Government statistics show record-high employment rate

Despite record-high employment rates reported by the Korean government, the quality of jobs appears to be declining, mainly due to high interest rates, inflation, and, consequently, a prolonged economic downturn. The government recently announced that 170,000 more people were employed in July compared to the same month last year, marking a record-low unemployment rate. However, concerns highlighting the dark side of the labor market are rising as many of these jobs, particularly for young people and the elderly, are increasingly mismatched to workers’ skill sets, leading to underemployment.

According to an analysis by The Dong-A Ilbo on Friday, over microdata from Statistics Korea on the economically active population, the number of ultra-short-term workers—those working less than 15 hours a week—reached over 1.8 million in July. This figure represents 6.2% of the total employed population of 28.857 million and is 128,000 higher than a year ago, setting a record high in both number and proportion for July.

While the government’s July employment report highlights a historic employment rate of 63.3%, with 172,000 more people employed year-on-year, and a record-low unemployment rate of 2.5%, the increase is primarily driven by the youth and elderly taking on ultra-short-term jobs. This raises concerns that the government’s glowing employment figures may be somewhat misleading.


세종=정순구 기자 soon9@donga.com